Market

It’s no surprise that Brooklyn is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in this country — in fact, it ranks as the fourth most expensive in North America, according to a new analysis by PropertyShark for Point2 Homes.

Yes, it’s true, the mind-boggling Brooklyn real estate boom of the last three years slowed in the fourth quarter, just as real estate agents predicted. No, not everyone will agree, but the numbers have spoken.

Despite investors warning of softening rents in Brooklyn earlier this week, rents set new records by every measure — median, average and per square foot — in the parts of Brooklyn closest to Manhattan, according to a report Thursday by Douglas Elliman. For the first time, the median rent surpassed the $3,000 per month “threshold,” noted the report. Here are the details:

The median rent in August was $3,112 a month, a record and an increase of 10.8 percent vs. the same period the year earlier.

The average rent in August was $3,421 a month, also a record, a gain of 7.8 percent vs. the year before.

Rental price per square foot — one of the best measures of the market — increased 11.6 percent to $43.74 during the year, also a record.

Increased inventory and luxury rentals lingering on the market have caused a handful of Brooklyn developers and others to warn of a possible coming housing glut in Brooklyn. “Scores” of glassy towers are “opening, topping out or breaking ground” in north Brooklyn, from Downtown to Williamsburg, The Wall Street Journal reported.

This year 2,655 units are expected to come to the market. By 2016, the peak of 3,282 in 2008 is expected to be exceeded, with 4,990 units projected to launch, according to the story.

In the next five years, 21,822 new units are expected to be delivered, more than double the 10,052 new units built in the five years prior, according to the story.